Slop Slop Sloppy Joes--SLIDERS

I love sloppy joes, for one main reason...nostalgia!! They remind me of being a kid, a definitely guilty pleasure for me, sloppy joes and mac and cheese! This recipe is so easy but much better than the canned stuff. I decided to put a modern spin on these babies and make them sliders, which is cute and kid sized! Normally I would recommend Hawaiian Rolls for basically everything, but when I saw these specially made for sliders mini buns I couldn't resist.

Brown the meat with the onion and bell pepper, drain off the fat. Stir in the ketchup, garlic powder, ground mustard, and brown sugar. Mix, reduce heat and let simmer for 20-30 minutes.

 Spoon mixture into buns and top with good ol' American cheese. 

He loved them!! Connor approved!

Sloppy Joes - Click here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

1/4 -1/2 Onion diced

1/2 Bell Pepper diced

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder

3/4 cup Ketchup

3 teaspoons Brown Sugar

Instructions

In a medium skillet brown beef with onion and bell pepper, over medium heat.
Drain liquids, stir in the remaining ingredients.
Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 -30 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Homesick Texan's Fancy King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch Chicken, is my favorite casserole. I got the recipe from Lisa, over at Homesick Texan. Please I beg you go check out her blog. She has the best Tex-Mex recipes, and I love her extra because she is from Houston!

I love the regular condensed soup version of this casserole my friend Lena posted a tutorial for that on her fabulous blog Stella Sola.

Heat 1/4 c of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat

2 teaspoons of lime juice, and 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder

when the chicken is done (approx. 20 minutes)
shred it with two forks

I got the red bell pepper at the farmers market last week.

dice the bell pepper, onion, and poblano pepper

melt 4 tablespoons of butter and saute vegetables 

the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne however 

I found it a little too spicy. Next time I will use 1/4 - 1/8.

add to veggies

add chicken broth and let thicken,
then add half and half and rotel. 

Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

While the mixture is simmering grate your cheese. 

You can use bag cheese but the inconvenient 

truth is fresh grated cheese is much better

Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheddar.

Pepper Jack would also be delicious

Fresh cheese from Proverb's Farm. I also this got at the 

Pearlands Famers Market. 

I must have forgotten to take
pictures of the next steps.

Add the sour cream, 2 teaspoons of
lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro. 

Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350

Heat the tortillas, I do this in the microwave. 

You can also do this in a skillet with oil, but blah!

Spoon half a cup of the sauce into the 11 x 17 baking dish.

Layer half the tortillas on the bottom of the pan.

Layer half the chicken and half the sauce, and 1 1/2 cup of cheese. 

Repeat the layering ending with cheese

Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Serves 6 - 12, garnish with sour cream and cilantro.

Slightly Fancy-Pants King Ranch Chicken Casserole - Click here for printable recipe
 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of chicken, without skin and bones
4 teaspoons of lime juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 an onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 10oz. can of Ro-Tel tomatoes (or you can use a can of regular diced tomatoes and a 4 oz. can of diced green chiles, or if tomatoes are in season, can use two cups of diced fresh tomatoes with 1/4 cup of diced green chiles, such as a jalapeno)
4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of half and half
1/3 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
3 cups of grated pepper jack and cheddar
10 corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste.


Instructions
1. Cook the chicken in the olive oil on medium, adding 2 teaspoons of lime juice, 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder and salt to taste.
2. When chicken is done (after about 20 minutes), shred it with two forks and set aside. Should yield about 3 cups.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium, and add the onions, red bell pepper and poblano pepper. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the garlic, flour, cumin, cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons of ancho chile powder, and cook for 1 minute.
5. Add the chicken broth and cook on low until mixture is thickened, a few minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and Ro-Tel cover the pot, and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Uncover the pot, and add the sour cream, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and 1/4 cup of cilantro, and add salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
8. Heat up the tortillas (you can do this by adding a bit of oil on an iron skillet and then cooking the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side).
9. Ladle 1/2 cup of the sauce onto the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan.
10. Layer half the tortillas along the bottom of the pan (on top of the sauce). To make sure entire pan is evenly covered, you can rip some of the tortillas into strips to fill any gaps.
11. Add half the chicken, half the remaining sauce, half the remaining cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese.
12. Repeat the layering, leaving the cheese layer on top.
13. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Serves 6-12, depending on how big a portion you distribute. Goes great with sour cream and cilantro on top.

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping

I love pot pies, I used to eat the freezer kind all the time when I was young, because freezer food is how my mom gets down. I made a recipe with homemade crust a few months ago, I learned that I really despise crust making. I decided I love chicken, and biscuits so here we are. I adapted this from PW's left over turkey recipe. If you don't love biscuits, like my weirdo boyfriend, and if you don't love crust making, you can use Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crust. I don't care what anyone says they are delicious and SIMPLE.

First chop 1/2 a cup of carrot, celery, and onion

Melt butter and saute vegetables, I did mine for about 7 minutes--

after about 3 minutes I added the minced garlic

2 cups of chicken, you can use leftovers, make your own, 

or as I did buy a deli chicken.

Sprinkle flour over chicken mixture, over medium heat--stir constantly

Pour in broth, cream, and peas

Let it come to a slow boil, and cook for a few minutes to thicken--add salt and pepper.

YUM

You can make this a casserole, or a pie. Next time I will put in a deeper 

pan the biscuits sopped up a lot of the mixture

I mixed up some bisquik and flattened each out on top

Oh how I love biscuits

oh deeeeeeeelish! Those are PW mashed taters

I highly recommend eating them right now.

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping - Click here for printable recipes

Ingredients

1/2 cup Carrots

1/2 cup Celery

1/2 cup Onion

1-2 tsp Minced Garlic

1/2 stick Real Butter

2 cups of Chicken

Frozen Peas

1 cup Heavy Cream

2 cups of low sodium chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

Biscuit Topping:

Follow the directions on the back of the Bisquick box, 

or use your favorite biscuit recipe

Preheat oven to 420

Melt butter in a pot, add carrots, celery, and onion to pot and saute until translucent

towards the end add garlic (you dont want to burn the garlic). Add chicken and stir, then sprinkle flour over chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes--stir constantly.

Pour in chicken broth, cream and add peas stirring constantly. 

Let it come to a slow boil, and cook to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour into a casserole dish, or deep pie pan. Top with biscuit mix and cook for 30 minutes

Serve over Mashed Potatoes

Chicken Pot Pie w/ Cream Cheese Crust

I absolutely loved this dish! I am a big fan of down home cooking. Maybe I should call this blog Sassy Southern Cooking? I'll thinking about it. Anywho, the filling was very easy to make and delicious!  I found the recipe at Mommy's Kitchen, I just love her blog, she's from Mesquite, Texas which is around where my dad lived when I was growing up so it gives me good memories or my step mom and him cooking my favorite southern foods.

After making this fabulous pot pie I have decided making pie crust of any sort is just not necessary in my life unless it's for an important event. This was my first time making a crust from scratch, it was a lot of work! I had read you didn't really need a pastry cutter, and that a long fork would suffice, but I'm calling BS on that one, I'm thinking that is what made this so taxing, or maybe not? I am going to take the same recipe for the filling and try putting biscuits on top, stay tuned.

When making the crust combine flour, butter, and cream cheese,

cut mixture until it is crumbly...

like this.

This is where my stroke of genius came in,

I remembered we had a roasted chicken from H.E.B. just waiting to be eaten,

and what a time saver! But if you don't just grill up some chicken on a grill pan.

Sandra Lee would be so proud

 

I put my boyfriend to work and had him dice up some potatoes and boil them,

we over cooked them a bit, and they just kind of fell apart in the pie.

I think next time I will just serve it over mashed potatoes.

Roll out your pie crust, and cut out 6 overlapping circles.

You can also make one big one, but I like individual servings.

I should have rolled it out into a square learn from my rookie mistakes.

I couldn't find a smaller sauce pot so I had to use a  large pot,

anyway melt the butter and stir in the flour, garlic and spices.

Slowly stir in warm water, and milk then slightly crush the bouillon cubes and add.

Bring to a soft boil, and stir constantly for about 2 minutes.

Add the frozen veggies and chunk/ or shredded chicken.

oh my goodness just looking at that makes me ravenous!

That filling is so good you could just eat it all by it's self

Then add mixture to individual pie pans.

 I don't know how to cook without making a mess, as you can see.

Place the top crusts on the pic pans and flute the edges with a fork.

This will make your house smell soo delicious

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes my color didn't come out golden brown like Tina's

so i think i went wrong somewhere? Probably didn't leave it in long enough,

oh well they were still fabulous.

 

Chicken Pot Pie or Pies - Click here for printable recipes

Ingredients

Shell crust
1-2/3 c. flour

2 t. celery seed (optional)

1- 8 oz. cream cheese, cold

1/3 c. butter, cold

1/4 t. salt

Filling
1 whole chicken, pulled from bone and cut into chunks

1/3 cup - real butter

1/3 cup - flour

2 t. minced garlic

1/2 t. salt

dash of pepper

1-1/2 cup - warm water

2/3 cup- milk

3 chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup- frozen mixed veggies

3 - individual sized tin pie bowls

For the crust combine the flour, cream cheese, and butter in a bowl. Cut in the cold cream cheese and butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Then starting working it with your hands, kneading until you have a ball of dough: On a floured surface, roll out the dough in to a flat square. Take one of your tin bowls and trace and cut an overlapped piece of dough. Place it into the bowl and softly press it into the corners: You will get three servings out of this recipe. roll out a total of 6 squares for 3 bottom crust and 3 top crusts. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour, garlic, and spices till blended. Slowly stir in the warm water, bouillon cubes, and milk. Slowly bring a soft boil, stir constantly for about 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and add the frozen vegetables and chicken. Fill the shells: Put the tops of the crusts over this and seal the edges. You can use a fork to make a fluted edge. Make a criss cross slit in the center: Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Serve over mashed potatoes or right out of the bowl. If making one large pot pie bake about 30-40 minutes. Watch it carefully so it doesn't get to brown on top.

Note: This was too salty for me, next time I made it with low

sodium chicken broth instead of warm water and bouillon cubes.